Back country snow sculptures

There were three others with me this week: Two world class snowboarders (one a top Olympic snowboarder) and a leading videographer.

We had found an amazing spot here in the Portes du Soleil. With huge blue skies and an incredible abundance of fresh snow, we set about building a perfect backcountry kicker. When I say 'we', I mean I received a convenient phone call saying it was ready...

A few trial jumps proved the snow had softened too much in the warm afternoon sun. The run in was too slow and the jump itself was caving under the pressure of Jamie and Rowan. The jump was built up bigger, liberal amounts of salt was added and the decision to return the next morning to allow the run in and the jump itself to harden was made.

Next day, nice and early, we made our way back up to our secret spot. Both run in and jump had set nicely with the overnight temperatures and were ready to go. We had to wait a while for the sun to hit the jump just right, but once it was lit just so, the lads proceeded to destroy it.

This was a tricky jump to shoot. I needed to stay out of the video (I need to sort myself out some black kit so I don't stand out), yet still needed to get a good angle to isolate the rider from the dark trees in the background. Add on top time restrictions and I just didn't get the coverage I wanted from this kicker.

Still, we had a great time in the beautiful backcountry of the French Alps, I got some nice contrasty shots (no portfolio-worthy ones I'm afraid) and we are all looking forward to the next session. With more snow on the way and Jamie and Rowan itching to get back here, we'll get some epic images at last.